Team Approach Helps Young Mother Battle Rare Blood Cancer

A busy mother of two, Carolina Chaljub, 36, tried to power through the annoying dry cough that seemed to hang on far longer than a usual bug. It was persistent — so much so that she decided to seek a chest X-ray, followed by a CT scan.

The results shocked her: She had a large mass in her chest.

“They did a biopsy,” she recalls. “Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma. You know — cancer.”

There are more than 100 different types of blood cancer, which account for roughly 10 percent of all cancers diagnosed. While survival rates have improved, some can still be very complex to treat.

Understanding the Diagnosis

Primary mediastinal B cell lymphoma (PMBCL) is a rare and aggressive subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. A blood cancer, it is most often diagnosed in young women in their 20s and 30s.

Ms. Chaljub’s cough was caused by pressure from an abnormal growth in the mediastinum, the area of the chest between the lungs. This area is surrounded by the breastbone in front, the spine in back and the lungs on each side. It contains the heart, aorta, esophagus, thymus, thyroid, trachea, lymph nodes and nerves.

As frightening as her diagnosis sounded, Ms. Chaljub was bolstered by the confidence of her doctors at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute, hematologist-oncologists Ariel P. Perez, M.D. and Talia Zahra, M.D.

“This is a type of blood cancer that we can cure,” Dr. Perez says. 

Pursuing Leading-Edge Treatment

For PMBCL, one of the main treatments is called DA-EPOCH-R, which is a stronger version of the standard chemotherapy. It includes extra drugs, such as etoposide, and gives some medicines continuously instead of all at once. Doses are adjusted based on the patient’s response after each cycle.

Ms. Chaljub received six rounds of the treatment, which was grueling — but successful. In studies, the treatment cured most patients. In fact, more than 90 percent were cancer-free after five years. A big plus is that means many people don’t need radiation afterward, Dr. Perez says.

In DA-EPOCH-R treatment, the “R” stands for rituximab, a monoclonal antibody that’s given with each round of chemo. Rituximab sticks to a marker, called CD20, on the cancer cells, which helps the immune system recognize and destroy them. It basically flags the cancer cells so that the body’s own defenses —and the medicine — can kill them.

A Team Approach to Fighting Cancer

Although a cancer diagnosis is scary at any age, the implications can be particularly challenging for a young mother. Dr. Perez was impressed with how Ms. Chaljub handled it.

“She is very strong emotionally and physically,” he says. Ms. Chaljub tolerated the dose escalation of her medication regimen and was vigilant about reporting any side effects. When her mass began to shrink, it was a turning point. “It provided her with hope and strength to continue the treatment with curative intent.”

Ms. Chaljub says she got through it with the support of her husband and tight-knit family.

“My in-laws were here, my sisters — everybody rotated to be here,” she says. It reinforced the importance of building a strong circle of love. “All those events that you have and all those parties, all those things that, you know, you’re hosting for people. You’re sharing all that time with people — and then they’re there for you, and that’s beautiful.”

Finding Ways to Feel Strong

Although her scans showed great progress and she is now in remission, Ms. Chaljub initially had a hard time adjusting to the end of her treatment. “You know, I still had no hair. I still had all these things that I could physically see myself as a cancer patient,” she says. “And then you start realizing, okay, now what?”

One of the things that helped her was participating with friends and family in Bounce Back from Cancer^TM, a partnership between Baptist Health Foundation and the Miami HEAT to raise funds for research at Miami Cancer Institute.

“We really wanted to try and give back because we received so much,” she says. The celebratory atmosphere filled her with joy.

Dr. Perez also finds the event inspiring. “To feel that camaraderie — we’re all part of the same team,” he says. “It’s a great feeling to see people that you’ve treated or people that you know are undergoing treatment. There were patients on active chemotherapy walking and dribbling a ball for miles.” The next Bounce Back From Cancer is scheduled for March 14, 2026.

Ms. Chaljub says she knows she’s not quite at the finish line of her cancer journey. She is monitored carefully at follow-up checkups every three to six months. Eventually, the visits will be spaced further apart. But completing the Bounce Back walk gave her a sense of empowerment.

“When I crossed the finish line, I was like, wow, it’s crazy that I’m here because of me,” she says. “That was the moment of the walk that I was really emotional. I wasn’t there for a friend. I was there with a buzz cut, and everybody was happy, and everybody was cheering you on.”

Ariel P. Perez, M.D., hematologist-oncologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute

Talia Zahra, M.D., hematologist-oncologist at Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute